Students Build Living Village for Math Credit
For over a decade, The Infinity Project has been helping schools bring math and science to life for students through engineering. Now this established engineering curriculum is taking math to the next level through real-world applications.
The Infinity Project is expanding their high school course offerings to include "Engineering Math." Designed for students that have completed Algebra II, this course helps students learn and apply math to engineering concepts.
Students learn the math behind environmental engineering as they build a living village and design an efficient transportation system for food delivery. They become biomedical engineers and develop genetic modifications to ensure animal survival in various environments. They acquire and process data as they design a system for monitoring heart rate and respiration during exercise. Students work as mechanical and electrical engineers to develop a robot to accomplish tasks in a factory and design a high-tech digital music system. All these exciting projects are accomplished as students learn and apply math to solve real-world problems!
Beginning with the 2011-2012 school year, high school students may add engineering to their schedules to meet 4th year math requirements for graduation in the State of Texas. Principals and superintendents will no longer struggle to provide students with a rigorous, relevant option for meeting 4x4 requirements. The Infinity Project curriculum will meet the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) for Engineering Mathematics and prepare students to succeed in engineering at the university level.
"We are excited to offer this course to high school students all across the country," says Tammy Richards, Associate Dean of SMU's Lyle School of Engineering and Executive Director of The Infinity Project. "As a college student, I gained a deep understanding of the theory behind engineering. Having a course like Engineering Math in high school would have helped bridge the gap between the theoretical and the practical."
Hundreds of schools across the country are using The Infinity Project to increase student interest in math and science. Since its inception in 1999, The Infinity Project has trained hundreds of teachers and impacted thousands of students, preparing both for success in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM).
Not only does The Infinity Project "Engineering Math" curriculum link math with engineering theory, it provides districts with a complete "turn-key" solution for implementing cost-effective, relevant, rigorous course work. "The Infinity Project provides educators with everything they need to implement the program," say Dianna McAtee, Director of Academic Relations for The Infinity Project. "Teachers attend week-long summer training where they receive instructor text and notes, exercises and activities with solutions, daily lesson plan guide and presentation slides – all the material necessary for classroom success."
To learn more about this exciting program, visit the website at www.infinity-project.org.